Press Releases

23 Tennessee High School students to Compete in State-Wide Poetry Contest

Nashville—23 Tennessee high school students from across the state will participate in the 2014 Tennessee Poetry Out Loud State contest. Students learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition as they master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. The contest will decide the state champion who will go on to National Finals that take place on April 28-30 in Washington, D.C.

The Tennessee Arts Commission will host the state contest on Saturday, March 15, 2014 from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University. This event is free and open to the public.

Poetry Out Loud is a National Recitation Contest presented by The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in partnership with the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University. The program seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry, recitation and performance building on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form.

The high schools are: Antioch High School; Arlington High School; Battle Ground Academy, Franklin; Baylor School; Bolton High School; Cedar Springs Homeschool; Clarksville High School; Cookeville High School; Cumberland County High School; East Hamilton High School; Elizabethton High School; Fairview High School; Franklin Road Academy, Nashville; Hutchison School; McEwen High School; McMinn County High School; Oakridge High School; Overton High School, Nashville; Pope John Paul II High School; Providence Academy, Johnson City; Ridgeway High School; St. Benedict @ Auburndale High School; Unicoi County High School.

Poetry Out Loud Awards

The state champion and his/her teacher will receive cash prizes and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship. The first runner-up and his/her teacher will receive cash prizes and the school will receive a stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Poetry Out Loud will award a total of $50,000 in cash and school stipends at the National Finals, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

For more information on Poetry Out Loud in Tennessee, visit www.tn.gov/arts
For more information on the National Poetry Out Loud contest, visit www.poetryoutloud.org